Maryland Company Teams Up With Nonprofit Offer Free House Cleanings for Cancer Patients
Montgomery County, MD (DC News Now) — November 10, 2023 — Undergoing cancer treatment can be extremely difficult for anyone. Several local house cleaning businesses are going above and beyond to give cancer patients and their families one less worry.
It doesn’t cost the patients or their families a penny — and it gives them a big peace of mind.
The vacuum hummed across the rug in one of Doretta Claggett’s bedrooms as the cleaning crew from Maryland Spotless Maid Service gave her home a free cleaning.
“It gives you some type of space in your mind that you can breathe a little bit and that’s what it does to me. It gives me a chance to simply breathe,” said Claggett.
It also gives Claggett the opportunity to not worry about cleaning her home.
The Gaithersburg company teamed up with a non-profit called Cleaning for a Reason. Through their partnership, they offer free house cleanings for patients battling cancer, like Claggett, who has breast cancer.
“Trying to keep a house up, trying to keep things going and fighting for your life, so basically, you’re going up and down mentally every day. So when you have people come in and offer you services, it really helps you. It relieves you,” she said.
The charity forwards the names of local cancer patients, which are given by nurses, cancer care providers or social workers, to various cleaning companies like Maryland Spotless Maid Service. Owner Rachael Wiley then donates two free house cleanings for two patients each over a two-month period.
“If we can come in and put a smile on their face and have their home be cleaned for a day, a week, a month, then it’s all worth it,” she said.
The charity hits close to home for Wiley. Her mother and father both died of cancer. She understands, firsthand, the difficulties and stress that come with a cancer diagnosis and treatment. So for Wiley, cleaning a house for free so a cancer patient can focus on rest and recovery is priceless.
“It’s especially important and touching to us when we can do a service and we can give our time and our money and just our time and effort to just help those who just can’t help themselves at this time,” she said.
Since its founding in 2006, Cleaning For A Reason and its partners have provided free home cleaning for more than 51-thousand cancer patients and their families across the US and Canada, including the Claggetts.
Original article: https://www.dcnewsnow.com/news/local-news/washington-dc/free-house-cleanings-for-cancer-patients/
